Profit Taking Drags Indian Market Lower

By IBT Staff Reporter On 07/21/09 AT 7:27 AM

RTTNews - The Indian market ended lower on Tuesday, as cautious undertone following sharp gains in recent sessions led to some profit taking. Despite positive global cues, the market hovered in the red all through the day, although it cut some of its loss in late trading.

However, with corporate results announced so far remaining fairly buoyant, analysts expect the market to bounce back sharply in the near term after some consolidation at current levels.

The BSE Sensex moved choppily between 15,234 and 14,956 before finishing at 15,062, down 129 points or 0.85% from its previous close. Likewise, the S&P CNX Nifty fell 33 points or 0.74% to 4,469 and the BSE mid-cap index moved down 0.19%, while the small-cap index on the BSE ended up 0.24%.

On the BSE, losers outnumbered gainers by 1343 to 1289 , with 86 stocks closing unchanged. Sector-wise, while IT, power and public sector stocks led the decliners, metal, auto and healthcare stocks received some buying support.

IT stocks bore the brunt of the selling on profit taking after outperforming the broader market in the previous session. TCS fell over 4%, HCL Technologies declined 2.39%, Infosys eased 1.50% and Wipro ended down 0.46%.

KPIT Cummins Infosystems fell 3.76% after its dollar revenues for the quarter ended June fell both on a sequential basis as well as on a year-over-year basis. Rane Brake Lining was locked at the 10% upper circuit limit after its net profit for the June quarter jumped over three times to Rs 2.66 crore from Rs.80.13 lakh in the corresponding quarter last year.

Among state-run companies, NMDC, MMTC and Hindustan Copper ended in the red, but Neyveli Lignite ended up 0.15% amid reports that the government would kick off its disinvestment program with the dilution of stakes in listed firms, where public holding is less than 10 percent.

State-run oil-marketing firms ended lower after Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said in the Rajya Sabha that public sector oil firms will lose Rs. 2,880 crore in revenues during July, as retail prices were still lower than cost. HPCL edged down 0.51%, BPCL slipped 0.77% and IOC fell 2.11%.

Reliance Capital moved down 1.65% even as its chairman Anil Ambani proposed to unlock the value in life insurance business from a potential initial public offering or through a strategic financial stake sale or a combination of both.

Chambal Fertilizers closed down 0.87% despite announcing a two-fold rise in its June-quarter net profit. Yes Bank closed almost unchanged despite reporting a 84% rise is its quarterly net profit. Ultratech Cement rose 0.67% on the back of a 58% rise in its June-quarter net profit.

Ranbaxy Laboratories edged up 0.20% after it received final approval in Canada to manufacture and market its drug Ran-Simvastatin, used for lowering cholesterol. Petron Engineering Construction rallied 4.89% on bagging an order worth Rs 48.10 crore from Jaiprakash Associates.

Elsewhere, mixed trading was witnessed among the other Asian markets, as traders preferred to lock in gains following smart gains in recent sessions.

On the other hand, the European markets continued their northward march for the seventh successive session, led by retail, metal and mining stocks on increasing hopes of recovery and U.S. stocks are set to open Tuesday morning on a slightly positive note.

Light sweet crude oil for August delivery rose to $64.21 in Asian trading, up $0.23 from its previous close in New York at $63.98 on Monday.